七夕: Chinese Valentine's Day
by Ciamil B
Summary: Despite all the recent troubles, Wang Yao still has time to enjoy Chinese Valentine's Day with someone he really doesn't mind spending time with, even though he complains about it a lot. ChinaxRussia


七夕: Chinese Valentine's Day

by: Ciamil B.

Summary: Despite all the recent troubles, Wang Yao still has time to enjoy Chinese Valentine's Day with someone he really doesn't mind spending time with, even though he complains about it a lot. ChinaxRussia

==LINE BREAK==

Once upon a time there was a poor cowherd named Niu Lang, who had been chased out of his home by his brother's wife. Lonely and miserable, he poured out his troubles to an old magical cow, who had become his faithful companion. Not being able to bear seeing his friend so troubled, the cow told Niu Lang of a way he could find a beautiful and kind wife.

Following the cow's instructions, Niu Lang found himself on the riverside one night, where seven young women had flown down from Heaven to bathe. These seven women were daughters of the Queen of Heaven, and worked together to create the beautiful clouds in the sky. He took one of the silk dresses the women had left on the bank. The youngest of the seven was named Zhi Nu, whose dress Niu Lang had taken.

When it was time for the seven daughters to return to Heaven, Zhi Nu was unable to find her dress and waved her sisters off, telling them to go back to Heaven without her. Then, after the six sisters had gone, Niu Lang stepped out with the dress and asked Zhi Nu to stay with him as his wife. Several years went by on Earth, which were equivalent to a few days in Heaven, and Niu Lang lived happily with his new wife. They had two children before the Queen of Heaven noticed her youngest daughter was missing.

Filled with anger, she forced Zhi Nu to return to Heaven. Niu Lang, terrified at the sight of his beloved wife flying in the sky, grabbed the cowhide that hung on the wall. The magical cow, before dying, had told Niu Lang to skin him and keep the hide in case there was ever an emergency in the future. Niu Lang slipped the cowhide on across his back, and went after his wife and children.

With the cowhide, Niu Lang was able to follow Zhi Nu into Heaven. Just as he was about to reach his wife, the Queen appeared and used one of her hairpins to draw a line between the two, creating the Silver River, or the Milky Way. Unable to cross the River, Niu Lang and Zhi Nu could only stand on the two banks, looking at each other and being faced with the possibility of never being able to be together ever again.

Their sadness at not being able to be together touched the Queen, who allowed them to meet once each year on the 7th on the 7th lunar month, thus, 七夕, or Double Seventh.

==LINE BREAK==

It was August 16, 2010, and Wang Yao was having a very nice day. Despite the Zhouqu mudslides and the tragedies over the past few days, people were still able to bring their spirits up to moderately celebrate 七夕. He always felt his best when it was a holiday in his country, because his people were most chipper on holidays. It made him feel young again, even if he still couldn't touch his toes, _damn it_.

It was a nice break, especially after dealing with stupid Alfred and his fucking idiotic population. Granted, not all of them spat on those dead from the mudslides and said they deserved it, but still. He had so much _rage_ after Yahoo!News reported the mudslides because America's people were just so self-centered and self-righteous.

But Yao quickly pushed that thought out of his mind. This day was for love, not for hate. It was for remembering the story of 牛郎 and 织女. Yao loves this story – he used to tell it every year to his siblings. Tai and Yong-soo were the only two who ever really listened, but all the same, there was always someone around for him to tell the story to.

Traditionally, Chinese Valentine's Day is celebrated by young girls, who prepare fruit and incense as offerings to Zhi Nu, praying to attain adeptness in needlecraft, as well as for a good husband. At night, people of all ages sit outdoors to observe the stars, which is what Yao is used to doing alone every single year.

Only in recent years, Valentine's Day in China has been celebrated the same way it is in many Western countries. Yao would like to curse the media and Alfred and _France_, how could he forget France, for this, but at least it buoys up the economy when young lovers rent rooms at hotels, or go to restaurants to eat special Valentine meals.

Most of the other countries say that Yao can't be romantic, but that's not true because Yao has _always_ been a romantic, _all_ the time.

He's the one who always smiles when he sees Alfred pestering Arthur, because it's a little romantic how Alfred is only concentrating on Arthur at those times, like no one else exists other than Arthur in his world. He gets a warm feeling when he sees Feliciano and Ludwig together, because they are, for lack of a better word, _cute_ together. And it's nice how they both compromise and work things out, because their personalities are so different, a relationship really shouldn't work.

But even though Yao is a romantic, and it is now socially acceptable to buy flowers and chocolates to give to a lover, Yao can't participate in such things because despite being over 4,000 years old, Yao doesn't exactly have anyone to do the Western funky junky with.

"Yao! I came to surprise you. Are you surprised?"

… Except for Ivan, who is holding out flowers and chocolates, looking expectantly down at him.

"Ivan!"

"That is my name, da! So, what is little Yao doing today?"

Who Yao still doesn't feel _completely _comfortable with ever since communist relations went bad.

"Nothing of your concern, aru! What are you doing here?"

"I heard it was Valentine's Day and came to see you~ After all, lovers should be together on this day, da?"

Who entertains delusions that he and Yao are _in love_ and apparently have been for the past hundred years or so.

"W-we're not lovers, Ivan! And this is _my_ country's holiday!"

"Of course we are! See, I even have the key to your house! And you came over to my house for Valentine's Day!"

Who apparently stole Yao's house key out of his coat pocket that last conference and made a copy while Yao wasn't looking. And he only went to Ivan's house because the plane ticket was _free_.

"I didn't give that key to you! And the plane ticket to Russia was free!"

"Da, but you have my key, too. And they weren't free, I have sources telling me you bought a year's supply of Poland Spring water to get them~"

Yao frowns. If he had Ivan's key, he'd be sure to throw it into a deep ocean or give it to Natalie. And who betrayed him and told Ivan that? Well, he didn't have anything to say to _that_.

"I don't remember a key, aru." Ivan's eyes widen and Yao watches as the other man fumbles with his pockets for a while, before triumphantly pulling out a small package.

"Here it is! I am sorry, Yao! I must have forgotten to mail it after the last conference. You are not mad at me, yes? Because Arthur was not _that_ mad at Alfred when _he_ forgot to bring his duplicate apartment key to the conference to exchange!"

"Um." Yes, it is a key. Yao may or may not be feeling a tiny bit happy right now, but that's for him to know and others to speculate about (although most of Europe and Asia know that _yes_, he is _very_ happy at that moment).

"So now we're official, da? Even though we cannot move into one apartment together, this works just as well!"

But Yao wasn't _like that_! He – really, he wasn't!"

"You were going to do what you always do on this day: watch the stars alone, da? Let's watch them together, then, Yao~ I brought some food~"

They say that if you sit under a grapevine the night of 七夕, you can overhear what Zhi Nu and Niu Lang are talking about. For some reason, when Yao sits under a grapevine with Ivan that night, looking at the stars, he feels like he can _hear_ what Niu Lang and Zhi Nu are saying.

"Jesus, our country's an idiot!"

"Oh honey, I agree with you. He's all like, noooo, woe is me, I have no one to spend my 七夕 with, even though I've been practically monogamously bonking with the same guy for the past hundred-plus years!"

"… Too much information, wifey."

"You're right. We haven't seen each other in a _year_. Get over here and kiss me! We can wake the kids up to see you later~"

Well, that was weird.

Yao yawns and leans back a little, right into Ivan, who wraps his arms around him. It's peaceful and quiet, the way the two are sitting together. There is no need for any words between the two of them, because no matter what either of them may _say_, they're as comfortable with each other as they are alone by themselves.

It's true that Yao bought an entire year's supply of Poland Springs just to fly to Russia to be with Ivan on Saint Valentine's Day (it was _cheaper_). It's also true that the year before that, Ivan had been the one to fly to China for Saint Valentine's Day, even though it's not really celebrated in China on that particular day.

To Yao, being with Ivan is like being at home. Yao's happy to see the Russian on his doorstep every other year for holidays, and he's also happy to go to Russia every other year for holidays as well. It just feels _right_, and some time in the near future, when Yao gets over the shock of finally finding someone to be with after 4,000 years of solitude, he'll say, "yes, Ivan, I am coming to see you this St. Valentine's Day and on Christmas. And _yes_, I remember your Christmas is on January 7th – it's the only Christmas I _know_, aru. We don't celebrate it here! _Yes_, Valentine's Day as _lovers_, sheesh aru."

But damned if he's going to admit that to the Russian _now. _And at least he knows that Ivan will stay by his side until he does, and then possibly forever after that.

The End~

==LINE BREAK==

A/N: I still suck at writing romance, so excuse me if you feel it's not romantic enough x. I'm not too sure about the quality, but I just really wanted to get this up before I went to bed.

Helpful information from here:

h t t p : / / a p p 1 . c h I n a d a I l y . c o m . c n / s t a r / 2 0 0 2 / 0 8 1 5 / c u 1 8 – 1 . h t m l

And

H t t p : / / w w w . e b e I j I n g . g o v . c n / f e a t u r e _ 2 / T r a d I t I o n a l _ F e s I t I v a l / Q I x I _ F e s t I v a l / L e g e n d _ Q X / t 1 0 2 1 7 3 6 . h t m

Happy Chinese Valentine's Day, everyone!


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